Note that the original capital was Nanjing. After undermining the threat from the nomadic north, the third emperor, the Yongle Emperor, relocated the capital to Beijing in 1421.
Economic Backdrop In general, the Ming economy was prosperous, both international and domestic trade flourished, and the population grew. The early Ming dynasty managed to recover its economy from the devastation left by the late Yuan dynasty. The Hongwu Emperor feared that too much contact with the outside world through trade would undermine his absolute power, so he banned private maritime commerce only three years after the founding of the Ming. However, the prohibition lacked enforcement, and Chinese traders successfully established entrepots along the northeast coast of China, including Hangzhou, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou. These former fishing villages developed into major urban centers, and precious Chinese wares were carried by vessels to Taiwan, Kyushu, and other parts of the Indian Ocean, and further across the globe. Important exports include steel, silk, and porcelains, which were exchanged mainly for silver and gold. The greatest silver suppliers were Japan and Spain. Speaking internally, the rebuilding of the Grand Canal led to economic prosperity throughout most part of China. Political prosperity also brought economic recovery. However, during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, the Ming was on its decline due to economic problems. Silver was the primary source of money in Ming, and the economic system heavily depended on continuous supply of silver from the outside—Ming did not produce its own silver. The extreme monetization of the economy was challenged as Japan ceased supplying silver, and the French attacked Spanish ships carrying silver to China. Failing on its economy, the Ming faced increasing chaos and disorder.
Political Backdrop
Political stability contributed to the success of the early Ming dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang, later known as the Hongwu Emperor, was a successful military commander of the Red Turban Rebellion against the Yuan dynasty. He proclaimed the founding of the Ming dynasty in 1368, and then drove the Mongols out from the Yuan capital of Beijing. “Ming” means brilliant in Chinese, which reflected Zhu’s goal of establishing a prominent dynasty in Chinese history. Hongwu Emperor and his immediate successors, including Jianwen Emperor and Yongle Emperor, used several ways to construct an absolute monarchism and an extremely centralized government, while trying to recover both economically and socially from the devastation left by the Yuan dynasty. They used marriage and kinship to keep imperial power and to ease political tension. Hongwu Emperor retained much power for himself, depended on a civil service examination for selecting government officials who would then supervise all aspect of the empire, from cultivation to taxation. The emperors also used religion to legitimate their authority as the mandate of heaven, who were chosen by the gods to be messengers between the spiritual and human worlds, although religion was not as essential for the Ming dynasty as for the Islamic dynasties. In general, the Ming China was politically stable in the beginning. However, during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, political problems gradually undermined the Ming government. Incapable emperors inefficiently ruled the country, and irritated respected elites. Natural disasters led to starvation, and frequent rebellions among the peasantry caused problems, in which they were unsatisfied with the heavy tax rate. Maritime adventures gained increasing power as they grew extremely rich from oversea trade, and they frightened the top rulers of the country because they struggled to keep hold of absolute power.
Timeline
1368—the Hongwu Emperor proclaimed the founding of the Ming (capital was Nanjing) 1371—the Hongwu Emperor banned private maritime commerce 1405—the Yongle Emperor sponsored Zheng He’s first of seven maritime expeditions in the Indian Ocean 1406—the Yongle Emperor launched the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing
1420—the Forbidden City finished construction
1421—the Yongle Emperor relocated the capital to Beijing 1615—an official dictionary is published, reducing the number of signs of characters from more than 540 to 214 (1) 1644—Li Zicheng conquered Beijing
Aspects of Culture
Social Backdrop
The emperor held the greatest share of power, and almost singlehandedly control the entire country. When the Hongwu Emperor felt his authority was threatened, he killed some 100,000 people, including military men, scholars, and even members of his own bureaucracy. Supervising officials received orders from the emperor and then performed to the public. The theme of the early Ming was to restore traditional beliefs, mainly the Confucian thought. This included the gender view of men over women, and value of elderly over youngsters. Trade of manufactured goods flourished in urban cities, whereas rural people focused on agriculture. There were four social classes of Ming society: Shi, Nong, Gong, and Shang (2). The Shi group are scholars, and they were highly respected for their knowledge. Most officials were selected from this group. The Nong were farmers, who produced food and paid taxes and were vital to the society. The Gong were artisans and craftsmen with specific skills on manufactory, who passed their skills from generation to generation. The Shang were merchants and traders, who were thought to be greedy and only driven by profit because they did not produce but rather transported products to make money. The government, however, was independent from the categories, and interfered by supervising and collecting taxes. The population reached its perk during the late Ming period. The general estimation of the population size in 1600 was 160 million (3). The city of Nanjing had more than 1 million people.
During the Ming dynasty, millions of acres were used for cultivation, the Great Canal, reservoirs, and irrigation works were restored, as well as a billion trees planted in an effort to reforest China.
Education
This section will describe the educational system. Who is educated? What do they study? Is there a universal exam system?
Confucianism was the main philosophy performed in schools. Children started to learn above important values at a very young age from their parents. These Confucian values include Ren or compassion, Yi or integrity, Li or politeness, Xiao or taking care of parents, Zhi or intelligence, and Ping or balance characters. Schools were usually set up by individual scholars, with a few exceptions. In schools, students were required to recite literature and philosophy pieces of the past. The Ming offered a civil service examination for the selection of government officials. Children from peasantry families often studied extremely hard to perform better on the examination which might lead to a favorable career and lots of earnings. However, some were too poor to pay for school tuition, so they had to study on their own and prepare for the examination. The examination strictly limit the freedom of expression, and historians often denounce the examination because of the lack of creativity and value it adds to the society--the only way to get a good grade is to recite books and stuff your brains with knowledge that are not necessarily useful in daily life or in governing (3). It also leads to the increasing presence of incapable officials because they got in position by pure memorization.
Artistic Innovation
Title: Brush Holder--Relief carving depicting the scholars' outing recorded in "Ode to the Pavilion of the Inebriated Old Man" by Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072)
A relief carving on bamboo by Zhang Xihuang in the early 17th century. It function as a brush holder. It depicts scholars gathered around a pavilion, as described in a famous poem by Ouyang Xiu. It also demonstrates a common trend during the early Ming dynasty; that is, artworks are often associated with literature piece.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Title: Pipa
A sculpture work from the late 15th century, assembling the musical instrument Pipa. This is made of wood, ivory, bone and silk, and imprinted with characters of old style calligraphy. Ivory was a luxury good imported from outside of China through trade. The wealthy had a strong affinity to ivory works because of their scarcity and value.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Title: Medallion
Another sculpture work on ivory from the early 17th century. This depicts life of normal people, including a child siting in from of the house, a man carrying water pots, and a man riding on a horse. Note that horses were not originated in China, but came from the north (Mongols) through trading. Moreover, comparing to the early Ming dynasty, there was a shift in what was depicted in artworks. An increasing amount of artworks started to focus on the daily life of normal people, rather than highly sophisticated literature pieces.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Title: Octagonal Box, 1571.
A carved red lacquer with gold and silver pigment, function as a container. Its size is 10 x 11 in.
On the lid of the box are eight flying cranes and two peaches, both symbols of immortality, surrounded by a border of dragons and flowers. The theme of immortality makes it a suitable container for serving wine at birthday feasts. The background of each of the sixteen panels are painted in gold and outlined in silver. Remember that gold and silver were both imported from the outside through trade.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: Yale University Art Gallery, Asian Art
Title: Bowl, 1426-1435 A typical blue and white porcelain from the Ming dynasty. Porcelain bowls and other objects like this would be carefully packaged and transported to other countries. The Europeans had a special affinity to porcelain.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: Indianapolis Museum of Art
Title: Poem in Conceptual Script in Form of a Fan, early 16th century.
Written by Zhu Yunming with ink on gold speckled paper. Calligraphy was always considered as a type of art in China, and educated people often write critics on others' work, and put red stamps as signatures to allow future inference.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: Berlin State Museums
Title: 'Calligraphy' (from an original set of four paintings, 'The Four Accomplishments'). ca 1500.
This is a hanging roll painted on silk. It depicts scholars gathering in a garden to discuss about art and literature. one of them is ready to write on the white paper, probably to compose poetry as scholars often do. The scholars all wear black hats with long strips on the sides, and cloaks with a white inner cloth. There are four servants, one holding a fan, one prepares refreshments, one holding water for the one of the scholars to wash his hand, and one in the very background. There are peacocks on the left, rocks for decoration, and pine trees and other plants. This painting shows the stereotype of the life of scholars.
Classic literary texts
An important change in literary form during the Ming dynasty was the development of novel style literature from the old story-telling traditions, although poems still remained the main literary form. During the Yuan dynasty, scripts of drama plays started to incorporate what was considered as informal language or colloquial language in writing. This type of writing, much less complicated than the formal writing, became popular among the public. The Ming novels further developed on the colloquial style of writing.
Below is a copy of the original manuscript of the novel "The Journey to the West". This novel, possibly written by Wu Chengen, was one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. The novel extends the account of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who travelled west to India to obtain sacred text and returned. It reflects the belief of Chinese mythology, Taoist and Buddist philosophy as what was viewed during the time published.
Buddhism was the major religion in China, first passed from India during the Han dynasty and was already exist for fourteenth centuries when the Ming dynasty was founded. Much of the traditions were kept during the Ming, although the government showed more interest in the religion than previous dynasties. The Ming emperors attempted to strictly control the Buddhism communities, the imperial court offered great patronage, and individual monks involved in politics (4).
Title: Sino-Tibetan This is one of the largest and most ornate Sino-Tibetan bronzes surviving from the early 15th century. It was cast in three sections: the Buddha and the double lotus throne, the stepped base, and the background mandala piece. Lotus is a symbol for immortality. The character is Buddha. His gesture indicates that he is in peace.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: British Museum
The Chinese emphasized more on their philosophy than on religions--it can also be said that they practiced philosophy beliefs, such as Confucianism and Daoism, with the similar passion that the Islamic empires practiced their religion. Go back to the "Education" section to review the philosophy beliefs.
Architecture
This section should provide examples of monumental architecture of the region. You can also look for examples of urban culture. There should be at least three pictures or diagram included in this section. Each should be explained (by you.)
--Forbidden City
From ARSTOR.
From Baidu Baike
From Baidu Baike
From Baidu Baike
The Yongle Emperor started the construction of the Forbidden City in 1406, and he relocated the capital to Beijing in 1421 after the finish of its construction, setting the center of the government in the Forbidden City. Surrounded by a 52-meter-wide river, the outer walls stretch 3400 meters long and 12 meters tall. The emperor’s meeting place locates at the very center of the collections of buildings because such design represents the centralization of power that the emperor holds.
Title: The Beijing Palace-City Scroll
Painted in the mid-Ming dynasty and now held in the National Museum in Beijing, China, this painting depicts the main structure of the Forbidden City. The artist purposely draws clouds as background to suggest the enormous space of the architects, and to refer to the concept of the emperor being the mandate of Heaven, ascended from the normal people. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Verbotene-Stadt1500.jpg
--The Great Wall
The Ming dynasty built new sections upon the former constructions of the Great Wall. It was done primarily as a means to hold territory and fight against the nomads in the North, and the Chinese extended the wall as they pushed back the nomads in battles.
Observations about what we have learned.
This section should provide a paragraph length personal reflection about what you have learned about the culture and or the art of internet-based research.
The Ming dynasty demonstrated the concept of change and continuity through different aspects of culture. It emphasized on restoring the traditional values from the dynasties prior to the Yuan, which was controlled by the barbarian Mongols. The Ming government imposed a civil service exam for the selection of officials, while maintaining and reinforcing the traditional Confucian philosophy in all levels of educations. The art forms developed further base on previous knowledge and also incorporating new materials imported from the outside world, including silver, gold and ivory. Literature continued to emphasize on poems, but developed a more colloquial writing style in novels, innovated by the Yuan drama plays. Buddhism became the major religion in China, highly associated with the government, but other religions and beliefs were tolerated. The construction of the Forbidden City and the expansion of the Great Wall demonstrated the new heights in architecture. All in all, the culture and the art of the Ming dynasty flourished.
5. Yu, Chun-fang. "Ming Buddhism: The Ming Dynasty." In The Cambridge History of China, 893-952. Vol. 8. Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Resources to try:
Hayden Library Portal You can also find this link by going to Podium and finding the Hayden Library Link on the right side of the page. ARTSTOR - a GIANT repository of examples of art: searchable by time, location, and type. Note that most of them have descriptions which are helpful for composing summaries. It is found in the DATABASES tab.
360 virtual tours This link takes you to the Ottoman Empire. By searching for 360 tour and the name of a specific site you can often find an online tour. Some can be embedded.
Saudi Aramco World a great source for cultural resources for the Islamic World and parts of Africa.
Internet Source Books At the top there is a directory that will move you to other regions. Helpful for finding primary source accounts. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History at the Met Provides samples, essays that explain the periods and production techniques. Note the thematic categories in the bottom right of the introductory page.
Search of PBS.org will also yield a number of resources on Japan, India, etc.
You can also use Google Books, Google Scholar, Google WonderWheel and Google Timeline to get the specific information you need. DO NOT perform a general search....
Grading:
F: Follows directions but steals material. Both footnotes (or endnotes) and a bibliography (in Chicago Manual of Style format) are expected. You can change text using the T button to create superscript numbers.1 In short, treat the project like writing a research paper. There should be a caption under each picture that gives the name, originator, date, and source. Paragraphs and descriptions should be your writing, not another author's work pasted in with a few key words changed using the thesaurus function in Word. D: Follows directions, cites sources, doesn't complete the project, is riddled with errors. It is evident that the team failed to use its time well. C: Follows directions. Pastes the correct items into the correct places but takes no care in explaining the choices made. Uses less than six sources. Text is SLOPPY - no proofing! B: Follows directions. Describes the choices made using complete sentences and clear language. Labels items correctly. Cites sources. Organizes the visuals. The paragraphs are clearly written, but general in nature. A: Does B - but, shows some extra care, thought and research. An A has a "Wow" factor. This does not mean more color or flying moneys. It means that the content selected does a great job TEACHING about the culture of the in that region in that time period.
Map during the time period.
"A map of Ming dynasty China, showing the surrounding kingdoms and peoples", University of Washington Departments Web Server. No date or author. <https://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/1xarming.htm>
Note that the original capital was Nanjing. After undermining the threat from the nomadic north, the third emperor, the Yongle Emperor, relocated the capital to Beijing in 1421.
Economic Backdrop
In general, the Ming economy was prosperous, both international and domestic trade flourished, and the population grew. The early Ming dynasty managed to recover its economy from the devastation left by the late Yuan dynasty. The Hongwu Emperor feared that too much contact with the outside world through trade would undermine his absolute power, so he banned private maritime commerce only three years after the founding of the Ming. However, the prohibition lacked enforcement, and Chinese traders successfully established entrepots along the northeast coast of China, including Hangzhou, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou. These former fishing villages developed into major urban centers, and precious Chinese wares were carried by vessels to Taiwan, Kyushu, and other parts of the Indian Ocean, and further across the globe. Important exports include steel, silk, and porcelains, which were exchanged mainly for silver and gold. The greatest silver suppliers were Japan and Spain. Speaking internally, the rebuilding of the Grand Canal led to economic prosperity throughout most part of China. Political prosperity also brought economic recovery. However, during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, the Ming was on its decline due to economic problems. Silver was the primary source of money in Ming, and the economic system heavily depended on continuous supply of silver from the outside—Ming did not produce its own silver. The extreme monetization of the economy was challenged as Japan ceased supplying silver, and the French attacked Spanish ships carrying silver to China. Failing on its economy, the Ming faced increasing chaos and disorder.
Political Backdrop
Political stability contributed to the success of the early Ming dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang, later known as the Hongwu Emperor, was a successful military commander of the Red Turban Rebellion against the Yuan dynasty. He proclaimed the founding of the Ming dynasty in 1368, and then drove the Mongols out from the Yuan capital of Beijing. “Ming” means brilliant in Chinese, which reflected Zhu’s goal of establishing a prominent dynasty in Chinese history. Hongwu Emperor and his immediate successors, including Jianwen Emperor and Yongle Emperor, used several ways to construct an absolute monarchism and an extremely centralized government, while trying to recover both economically and socially from the devastation left by the Yuan dynasty. They used marriage and kinship to keep imperial power and to ease political tension. Hongwu Emperor retained much power for himself, depended on a civil service examination for selecting government officials who would then supervise all aspect of the empire, from cultivation to taxation. The emperors also used religion to legitimate their authority as the mandate of heaven, who were chosen by the gods to be messengers between the spiritual and human worlds, although religion was not as essential for the Ming dynasty as for the Islamic dynasties. In general, the Ming China was politically stable in the beginning. However, during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, political problems gradually undermined the Ming government. Incapable emperors inefficiently ruled the country, and irritated respected elites. Natural disasters led to starvation, and frequent rebellions among the peasantry caused problems, in which they were unsatisfied with the heavy tax rate. Maritime adventures gained increasing power as they grew extremely rich from oversea trade, and they frightened the top rulers of the country because they struggled to keep hold of absolute power.
Timeline
1368—the Hongwu Emperor proclaimed the founding of the Ming (capital was Nanjing)
1371—the Hongwu Emperor banned private maritime commerce
1405—the Yongle Emperor sponsored Zheng He’s first of seven maritime expeditions in the Indian Ocean
1406—the Yongle Emperor launched the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing
1420—the Forbidden City finished construction
1421—the Yongle Emperor relocated the capital to Beijing
1615—an official dictionary is published, reducing the number of signs of characters from more than 540 to 214 (1)
1644—Li Zicheng conquered Beijing
Aspects of Culture
Social Backdrop
The emperor held the greatest share of power, and almost singlehandedly control the entire country. When the Hongwu Emperor felt his authority was threatened, he killed some 100,000 people, including military men, scholars, and even members of his own bureaucracy. Supervising officials received orders from the emperor and then performed to the public. The theme of the early Ming was to restore traditional beliefs, mainly the Confucian thought. This included the gender view of men over women, and value of elderly over youngsters. Trade of manufactured goods flourished in urban cities, whereas rural people focused on agriculture.There were four social classes of Ming society: Shi, Nong, Gong, and Shang (2). The Shi group are scholars, and they were highly respected for their knowledge. Most officials were selected from this group. The Nong were farmers, who produced food and paid taxes and were vital to the society. The Gong were artisans and craftsmen with specific skills on manufactory, who passed their skills from generation to generation. The Shang were merchants and traders, who were thought to be greedy and only driven by profit because they did not produce but rather transported products to make money. The government, however, was independent from the categories, and interfered by supervising and collecting taxes. The population reached its perk during the late Ming period. The general estimation of the population size in 1600 was 160 million (3). The city of Nanjing had more than 1 million people.
During the Ming dynasty, millions of acres were used for cultivation, the Great Canal, reservoirs, and irrigation works were restored, as well as a billion trees planted in an effort to reforest China.
Education
This section will describe the educational system. Who is educated? What do they study? Is there a universal exam system?Confucianism was the main philosophy performed in schools. Children started to learn above important values at a very young age from their parents. These Confucian values include Ren or compassion, Yi or integrity, Li or politeness, Xiao or taking care of parents, Zhi or intelligence, and Ping or balance characters. Schools were usually set up by individual scholars, with a few exceptions. In schools, students were required to recite literature and philosophy pieces of the past. The Ming offered a civil service examination for the selection of government officials. Children from peasantry families often studied extremely hard to perform better on the examination which might lead to a favorable career and lots of earnings. However, some were too poor to pay for school tuition, so they had to study on their own and prepare for the examination. The examination strictly limit the freedom of expression, and historians often denounce the examination because of the lack of creativity and value it adds to the society--the only way to get a good grade is to recite books and stuff your brains with knowledge that are not necessarily useful in daily life or in governing (3). It also leads to the increasing presence of incapable officials because they got in position by pure memorization.
Artistic Innovation
Title: Brush Holder--Relief carving depicting the scholars' outing recorded in "Ode to the Pavilion of the Inebriated Old Man" by Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072)
A relief carving on bamboo by Zhang Xihuang in the early 17th century. It function as a brush holder. It depicts scholars gathered around a pavilion, as described in a famous poem by Ouyang Xiu. It also demonstrates a common trend during the early Ming dynasty; that is, artworks are often associated with literature piece.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Title: Pipa
A sculpture work from the late 15th century, assembling the musical instrument Pipa. This is made of wood, ivory, bone and silk, and imprinted with characters of old style calligraphy. Ivory was a luxury good imported from outside of China through trade. The wealthy had a strong affinity to ivory works because of their scarcity and value.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Title: Medallion
Another sculpture work on ivory from the early 17th century. This depicts life of normal people, including a child siting in from of the house, a man carrying water pots, and a man riding on a horse. Note that horses were not originated in China, but came from the north (Mongols) through trading. Moreover, comparing to the early Ming dynasty, there was a shift in what was depicted in artworks. An increasing amount of artworks started to focus on the daily life of normal people, rather than highly sophisticated literature pieces.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Title: Octagonal Box, 1571.
A carved red lacquer with gold and silver pigment, function as a container. Its size is 10 x 11 in.
On the lid of the box are eight flying cranes and two peaches, both symbols of immortality, surrounded by a border of dragons and flowers. The theme of immortality makes it a suitable container for serving wine at birthday feasts. The background of each of the sixteen panels are painted in gold and outlined in silver. Remember that gold and silver were both imported from the outside through trade.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: Yale University Art Gallery, Asian Art
Title: Bowl, 1426-1435
A typical blue and white porcelain from the Ming dynasty. Porcelain bowls and other objects like this would be carefully packaged and transported to other countries. The Europeans had a special affinity to porcelain.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: Indianapolis Museum of Art
Title: Poem in Conceptual Script in Form of a Fan, early 16th century.
Written by Zhu Yunming with ink on gold speckled paper. Calligraphy was always considered as a type of art in China, and educated people often write critics on others' work, and put red stamps as signatures to allow future inference.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: Berlin State Museums
Title: 'Calligraphy' (from an original set of four paintings, 'The Four Accomplishments'). ca 1500.
This is a hanging roll painted on silk. It depicts scholars gathering in a garden to discuss about art and literature. one of them is ready to write on the white paper, probably to compose poetry as scholars often do. The scholars all wear black hats with long strips on the sides, and cloaks with a white inner cloth. There are four servants, one holding a fan, one prepares refreshments, one holding water for the one of the scholars to wash his hand, and one in the very background. There are peacocks on the left, rocks for decoration, and pine trees and other plants. This painting shows the stereotype of the life of scholars.
Classic literary texts
An important change in literary form during the Ming dynasty was the development of novel style literature from the old story-telling traditions, although poems still remained the main literary form. During the Yuan dynasty, scripts of drama plays started to incorporate what was considered as informal language or colloquial language in writing. This type of writing, much less complicated than the formal writing, became popular among the public. The Ming novels further developed on the colloquial style of writing.
Below is a copy of the original manuscript of the novel "The Journey to the West". This novel, possibly written by Wu Chengen, was one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. The novel extends the account of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who travelled west to India to obtain sacred text and returned. It reflects the belief of Chinese mythology, Taoist and Buddist philosophy as what was viewed during the time published.
Click here to view the English version: The Journey to the West on GoogleBooks
Click here to view the original Chinese version: The Journey to the West
Religion
Buddhism was the major religion in China, first passed from India during the Han dynasty and was already exist for fourteenth centuries when the Ming dynasty was founded. Much of the traditions were kept during the Ming, although the government showed more interest in the religion than previous dynasties. The Ming emperors attempted to strictly control the Buddhism communities, the imperial court offered great patronage, and individual monks involved in politics (4).Title: Sino-Tibetan
This is one of the largest and most ornate Sino-Tibetan bronzes surviving from the early 15th century. It was cast in three sections: the Buddha and the double lotus throne, the stepped base, and the background mandala piece. Lotus is a symbol for immortality. The character is Buddha. His gesture indicates that he is in peace.
From ARSTOR.
Repository: British Museum
The Chinese emphasized more on their philosophy than on religions--it can also be said that they practiced philosophy beliefs, such as Confucianism and Daoism, with the similar passion that the Islamic empires practiced their religion. Go back to the "Education" section to review the philosophy beliefs.
Architecture
This section should provide examples of monumental architecture of the region. You can also look for examples of urban culture. There should be at least three pictures or diagram included in this section. Each should be explained (by you.)--Forbidden City
From ARSTOR.
From Baidu Baike
From Baidu Baike
From Baidu Baike
The Yongle Emperor started the construction of the Forbidden City in 1406, and he relocated the capital to Beijing in 1421 after the finish of its construction, setting the center of the government in the Forbidden City. Surrounded by a 52-meter-wide river, the outer walls stretch 3400 meters long and 12 meters tall. The emperor’s meeting place locates at the very center of the collections of buildings because such design represents the centralization of power that the emperor holds.
Title: The Beijing Palace-City Scroll
Painted in the mid-Ming dynasty and now held in the National Museum in Beijing, China, this painting depicts the main structure of the Forbidden City. The artist purposely draws clouds as background to suggest the enormous space of the architects, and to refer to the concept of the emperor being the mandate of Heaven, ascended from the normal people.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Verbotene-Stadt1500.jpg
--The Great Wall
The Ming dynasty built new sections upon the former constructions of the Great Wall. It was done primarily as a means to hold territory and fight against the nomads in the North, and the Chinese extended the wall as they pushed back the nomads in battles.
Observations about what we have learned.
This section should provide a paragraph length personal reflection about what you have learned about the culture and or the art of internet-based research.The Ming dynasty demonstrated the concept of change and continuity through different aspects of culture. It emphasized on restoring the traditional values from the dynasties prior to the Yuan, which was controlled by the barbarian Mongols. The Ming government imposed a civil service exam for the selection of officials, while maintaining and reinforcing the traditional Confucian philosophy in all levels of educations. The art forms developed further base on previous knowledge and also incorporating new materials imported from the outside world, including silver, gold and ivory. Literature continued to emphasize on poems, but developed a more colloquial writing style in novels, innovated by the Yuan drama plays. Buddhism became the major religion in China, highly associated with the government, but other religions and beliefs were tolerated. The construction of the Forbidden City and the expansion of the Great Wall demonstrated the new heights in architecture. All in all, the culture and the art of the Ming dynasty flourished.
1. "明朝." _百度百科. Accessed November 3, 2015.
2. "士农工商." _百度百科. Accessed November 3, 2015. <http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=beVZAl46JHiU91NgIGXh3PXYBz2HwBS04uVcHHVG9lRNhCJqtafXzTg-AVr2aoMVtocTJds5lbFXTtOaqhBrIa
3. "明朝." （中国历史朝代）_百度百科. Accessed November 3, 2015. <http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=wQFcmCcxCeg_uaGNpvaLkrkg12cYasUTjBwci-zpWUFMKjH1r3V_TBwD4OtizOD6I0kCUddDkMq5B2PACWbkYAUr-a1YVrDZd8cQUQeDOyK>
4. "八股文." _百度百科. Accessed November 3, 2015.
5. Yu, Chun-fang. "Ming Buddhism: The Ming Dynasty." In The Cambridge History of China, 893-952. Vol. 8. Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Resources to try:
Hayden Library Portal You can also find this link by going to Podium and finding the Hayden Library Link on the right side of the page.ARTSTOR - a GIANT repository of examples of art: searchable by time, location, and type. Note that most of them have descriptions which are helpful for composing summaries. It is found in the DATABASES tab.
360 virtual tours This link takes you to the Ottoman Empire. By searching for 360 tour and the name of a specific site you can often find an online tour. Some can be embedded.
Saudi Aramco World a great source for cultural resources for the Islamic World and parts of Africa.
Internet Source Books At the top there is a directory that will move you to other regions. Helpful for finding primary source accounts.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History at the Met Provides samples, essays that explain the periods and production techniques. Note the thematic categories in the bottom right of the introductory page.
British Museum World History Timeline Set to open in Asia, you can move about the globe.
British Museum Cultures Gives an overview. The top right of each page gives a selection of items from the museum.
British Library contains descriptions of and digitized images of cultural artifacts and texts.
Louvre - in English
Asia for Educators Great for East Asia resources
Search of PBS.org will also yield a number of resources on Japan, India, etc.
You can also use Google Books, Google Scholar, Google WonderWheel and Google Timeline to get the specific information you need. DO NOT perform a general search....
Grading:
F: Follows directions but steals material. Both footnotes (or endnotes) and a bibliography (in Chicago Manual of Style format) are expected. You can change text using the T button to create superscript numbers.1 In short, treat the project like writing a research paper. There should be a caption under each picture that gives the name, originator, date, and source. Paragraphs and descriptions should be your writing, not another author's work pasted in with a few key words changed using the thesaurus function in Word.D: Follows directions, cites sources, doesn't complete the project, is riddled with errors. It is evident that the team failed to use its time well.
C: Follows directions. Pastes the correct items into the correct places but takes no care in explaining the choices made. Uses less than six sources. Text is SLOPPY - no proofing!
B: Follows directions. Describes the choices made using complete sentences and clear language. Labels items correctly. Cites sources. Organizes the visuals. The paragraphs are clearly written, but general in nature.
A: Does B - but, shows some extra care, thought and research. An A has a "Wow" factor. This does not mean more color or flying moneys. It means that the content selected does a great job TEACHING about the culture of the in that region in that time period.